Bandung, Indonesia: Indonesian officials have warned people to stay more than a mile (two kilometers) from two craters on a smoking volcano spewing noxious gas.
Government volcanologist Surono says visitors and villagers have been told to stay away from the yellow craters on the 2,665-meter (8,743-foot) Mount Papandayan. The craters are tourist attractions but are now emiting dangerous hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide gases.
Surono, who uses only one name, said Saturday that authorities raised the volcano’s alert to the second-highest level.
Papandayan in West Java province is one of Indonesia’s most popular peaks to climb. It last erupted in 2002.
Indonesia lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, August 14, 2011, 12:49